“There are those that say he acts like he’s got
something to hide, they say,” came a strange voice from the corner shadows. The
voice belonged to a man, a stranger to the boggies of the Bag Eye, a stranger
they had understandably overlooked because of his rather ordinary black cape,
black chain mail, black mace, black dirk, and perfectly normal red glowing fires
where his eyes should have been.

squire: One of the biggest criticisms of this part
of Lord of the Rings is the undefined status of the Nazgul, or “Black Riders”.
Just how powerful were they, and why were they so incompetent to find and
retrieve the Ring for Sauron? Put another way, how many hairsbreadth escapes can
Tolkien plausibly cram into four or five chapters before the reader asks, “Who
are these guys? And why didn’t Sauron send the A team?”

Owlyross: The quest began
sooner than Sauron expected? It seems that the Ringwraiths were sent as
spies, as they're ideally suited to this task, but Sauron underestimated the
fact that the quest would get on its way so soon. Also, he doesn't know what
plans are in store for the Ring, all he knows is that it's in the hands of a
small creature called Baggins. He's expecting a quick in and out campaign maybe,
for the Nazgul to sneak in, take the ring without resistance and get it back to
him. I believe he didn't reckon on the involvement of the Istari and Isildur's
Heir.

Once they've
been outfoxed, the riders are without leadership and have lost track of the
ring, so I guess it takes a long time for them to get a sniff of the trail
again.

dernwyn:
OutFOXed? That critter is definitely critical to the story!

Owlyross: Nice! Well,
living in Leicester, in the midlands of England, where the landscape of the
story is based on, and the local soccer and cricket teams are called the
Foxes...

I like the
idea that the fox has something more to do... Maybe he's a spy for Gollum, and
actually follows the Fellowship down the Anduin, only for Gollum to pick up the
trail at the Emyn Muil...

Ok, stretching
credibility now!

squire: Tolkien himself struggled with this
question, both during the writing and after publication. After all, the Black
Riders originated as a suitably mysterious device of pursuit of Frodo in the
Shire, long before the idea of Nine Rings for Mortal Men had been thought of. In
characteristic fashion, he enlarged upon his existing writing rather than
starting over, and many of the “creepy” appearances of the Black Riders predate
the rather specific powers, or lack thereof, that were later bestowed upon
them.

squire: After The Fellowship of the Ring was
published in 1954, but before The Return of the King with its timeline in
the Appendices went to print, Tolkien sketched out his notes on the movements of
the Black Riders in the summer and fall of 3018. This material is printed in
Unfinished Tales, edited by Christopher Tolkien in 1980, under the title
“The Hunt for the Ring.”

In these rough accounts, we learn
that Tolkien intended things thuswise:

·Sauron sent the Nazgul to search for the Ring, once he learned its
location and owner from Gollum, because his other spies were being waylaid or
foiled by the Dunedain, or by Saruman. None could withstand or foil the Nazgul;
and they were utterly reliable for returning the Ring to Mordor, having no will
of their own in the matter. However, their weakness was the terror they inspired
in all they met, ensuring that rumor of their mission would accompany or precede
them.

dernwyn: I've a question,
also: "Shire" and "Baggins"? The Ringwraths are supposed to have extracted
these two crucial pieces of information from Gollum.

This has
bothered me ever since reading the Annotated Hobbit (which is a fantastic way to
make you stop and look at all the crevices and cubbyholes in that book). Take a
look through "Riddles in the Dark": nowhere does Bilbo say anything about the
"Shire"! The place he is from is never told to Gollum. How, then,does Gollum
come up with "Shire"? Is this a piece of information he comes across, during
his search after he leaves the Mountains?

drogo_drogo: The "Shire"
didn't exist at that time but we just have to assume that it was called by
that name and that Gollum overheard it when he was searching for Bilbo and had
made his way to Esgaroth. Gandalf said in "Shadow of the Past": "We had made no
secret of our return journey to his home in the West. Gollum's sharp ears would
soon learn what he wanted." The "West" is all that the Shire was called back in
The Hobbit. Not until Tolkien started the sequel did he give a name to the
land, and developed the maps, etc.

Like much in
the transition from The Hobbit to FOTR, it's a bit of Tolkien's revisionist
history we have to take on faith.

·The Black Riders had maps of the Shire, and lists of names and
addresses, including the address of Baggins in Hobbiton, that they acquired from
one of Saruman’s spies. [How they read the material if they “do not see the
world of light as we do”, as Strider puts it, is not clear!]

dna: Presumably they would
have the various spies & servants they came across translate them?

·Although the Riders had killed numerous Stoors at Gollum’s old
homelands earlier in the summer, and had killed the Rangers who opposed their
entry into the Shire, the Captain decided that the Shire was “too large for a
violent onslaught… he must use as much stealth and as little terror as he could”
and at the same time “must guard the eastern borders.” (UT, p. 348) [Guard
from whom? Perhaps such Elvish or Ranger reinforcements as Aragorn might summon?
What exactly are Riders afraid of?]

dna: Besides water, fire,
& daylight? I'd agree, Elves & Rangers in large numbers. The Witch-king
obviously has an affinity for this area. How much of it is tactically sound, or
just soak up some nostalgia, who knows? But he sets up camp here, and "stayed
there for some days" rousing the Barrow-wights and "all things of evil spirit,
hostile to Elves and Men."

Oloin: Might the Black Riders
have been sent not to guard the East against attack, but to prevent the
ringbearer from escaping? The Nazgul did not know exactly where the ring was at
this point, but it makes sense to 'clear' one area at a time, so, they pick the
area where they think the ring is most likely to be, set a watch around it as
best they can with part of their force, and search within with the rest of the
force.

·Therefore only “some” of the Riders were sent into the Shire, with
orders to travel separately. The rest were set as a guard on the eastern
borders.

·Khaműl of Dol Guldur was assigned the Hobbiton search, where the
Riders knew that Baggins lived. He then followed the Hobbits along the road to
Stock, and narrowly missed them at the Bucklebury Ferry.

·Khaműl was most apt to perceive the Ring (after the Morgul lord
himself), but was also most confused and diminished in daylight.

·The Rider who accompanied Khaműl, whom he summoned by cries on the
ridge above Woodhall, and with whom he visited Farmer Maggot, was the other
Nazgul who resided at Dol Guldur. [This is not clear. Only one rider visited
Maggot.]

dna: Could he have simply
been watching the road?

squire: So
Tolkien builds an elaborate scenario
demonstrating how the Captain of the Nazgul divided his forces to the point
where only one Rider had all the work to do; where the Riders, having issued in
secret from Mordor, have to use half their force to guard against retaliation
because of the incredible violence and terror of their methods; and where they
were nevertheless under orders to, as Curious says, “do their best to be, er,
friendly”. I won’t even mention the water thing.

However, it does seem from these
notes that, after losing the hobbits down the steep bank, the two Riders crossed
the fields somehow, visited Maggot first (“’I come from yonder’, pointing back
west over my fields”) and then systematically swept the road from Rushey to
Stock, visiting every farm along the causeway that must intercept the hobbits’
cross-country path toward the Ferry. Since we never hear that Maggot escaped
being murdered a second time while returning south along the causeway, I suppose
that Khaműl at least had moved further north, toward Stock, during the hobbits’
supper at Maggot’s, and then returned to the Ferry, catching up just behind
Merry, since he reaches the landing only a minute or two after they do. And as
N.E.Brigand notes, why Khaműl did not detail one rider to guard the Ferry…

dna: Lack of organization;
hesitation to stand alone in broad daylight; fear of water; effective blindness
- all of the above?

Grammboodawg: This is
fantastic! Thank you! What a wonderful post, squire! WOW!

I've always
felt that the Black Riders' strength in situations like hunting hobbits in the
Shire was hindered by the hidden strength within the hobbits themselves.
Frodo's ability to resist them (and the evil in general) was not wholly
exclusive to him. I think the terror that drove or petrified others wasn't as
complete in its affect on hobbits. And Maggot (specifically) is known by
Bombadil, which shows there's more to THIS hobbit than meets the eye.

I also believe
there is grace, or the "will of good" at play here... a force that p'raps clouds
the Riders' ability to keep a lock on the hobbits/Ring's movement. Gandalf (I'm
sure) had a hand in that!

FarFromHome: Your summary
certainly makes it clear the the Nazgul were able to use weapons other than
fear in the drafts, but I can't think of an example of them doing so in the LOTR
itself (other than Frodo's stabbing of course, but he was in the wraith-world at
the time). They ride down the gate, but that only requires horses. The attempted
murder of the hobbits in their beds at Bree was done by men in their employ.
They are afraid of fire and are hampered by daylight. Where and what exactly is
their power? IIRC, Strider tells Frodo that "they are terrible", and to Frodo
they certainly are. But how? They still come across as ghosts to me, and their
power as essentially the effect they have on the minds of their victims. This
puts Frodo, as the Ring-bearer, uniquely at risk, since the Ring also works on
the mind. And once he puts it on, his vulnerability is total.

In terms of
narrative technique, they make an unforgettable first impression on the reader
as the first tangible intrusion of the darker outside world into the mundane
life of the Shire. But as your analysis shows, on a logical level they aren't
the most believable of creatures for the job they had to do. The only way to
answer your questions about their movements, it seems to me, is to say that they
are mysterious apparitions whose movements cannot be predicted or explained
logically. Rather like ghosts in fact.

It's clear
from the drafts that you cite that Tolkien went to a lot of trouble to try to
work out exactly what was happening behind the scenes, but in the end he only
allows us to see glimpses of it. Personally I don't have any trouble with not
knowing exactly how the Riders work - it just adds to the impression of
nameless, shapeless fear that they inspire.

dernwyn: The unknown is
far more scarier than the known. That's a good point - not knowing "how" the
Black Riders work adds to their terror. The unlogical causes apprehension among
the logical.

drogo_drogo: It would have
been better not to make the Riders the Nazgul Excellent summary of the many
problems with this early portion of the journey, and the way the Nazgul are
used. I wonder if Tolkien should have gone back to revise the text so that they
would be more in line with the fierce creatures they become later on, but their
mysterious inability or unwillingnes to raise a ruckus in the Shire makes them
fit into the Hobbit with which we are still familiar.

In hindsight,
it might have been better to send another villain looking for the Ring, such as
the mysterious Southerner in Bree, from the point of view of consistency in the
representation of villains. (It would even be better for Saruman, who has had
agents in the Shire for a long time, to have sent agents looking for the Ring
before the Nazgul, but that's just how I would rearrange the sequence of events,
and it would require lots of monkeying around with the timeline in FOTR and the
UF account.) Yes, the Black Riders are the most iconic depicitions of evil in
LOTR, but they are out of place in the Shire and might have been better saved
for later in the book when they can appear in a much more dramatic fashion.

Anchises: I don't know . . .
. . . I think their earlier presence adds a lot to their later, more overt
danger; they become characters in themselves, despite their facelessness, to the
extent that the Witch-King can be a figure of great evil and menace in the ROTK
even though he barely gets a line. If Tolkien had just thrown them in at the
siege they'd have seemed quite contrived, like Lurtz or Gothmog the orc in the
movie; just bad guys created so that the good guys have something to kill.

I think what
Tolkien needed to do was create a more convincing way to explain the growth of
the Nazgul and the introduction of the Fell beasts. So perhaps their power and
physicality can be very clearly 'supercharged' when Mount Doom erupts (as
somebody like Gandalf could explain), while the Fell beasts could be, say, an
overt attempt by Sauron to match the great eagles (perhaps Saruman might mention
this during the 'Voice of Saruman' scene, or hint at their coming before they
actually arrive). Not great solutions, I grant you, but the point is that
there's nothing wrong with the Nazgul developing over the course of the
story. Indeed, IMO it's desirable. But there need to be *reasons* for their
increased power, preferably reasons that tie into the rest of the story in some
way. I think that's Tolkien's failure here: he doesn't set rules of power for
the Nazgul that we can follow.

Beren IV: Growth in power?
Thanks for the analysis - yes, it has always bothered me exactly how powerful
the Nazgűl are and what they are and are not capable of. I had always felt that
in the Shire, in September of 3018, they are simply not as powerful as they will
be later on in the War of the Ring, but these note seem to imply otherwise, or,
at least, that they were quite capable of killing even then.

For this
reason, I suppose that I would favor Grammaboodawg's suggestion that the
Dúnedain and the Elves were on the Riders' heels the whole time, and that the
Riders were not able to keep a consistant watch on the Hobbits because they were
busy dodging pursuit themselves. Nonetheless, there does appear to be something
of an inconsistancy here. These are becoming disquietingly common in Tolkien.

Elostirion74: An attempt at some answers I'll try to answer most
of the points made here. I have no problem with the Nazgűl developing
gradually, that's only an ordinary and efficient storytelling device. I
agree to the fact that there are some inconsistencies concerning the Riders,
even after Tolkien tried to provide a more thorough background for their
doings and whereabouts. Probably Tolkien wasn't able to reconcile the
different concepts he worked with.

But I won't
consider the Riders as incompetent as some people try to make them and find
quite a few of their doings very logical. Certainly, their choice to use stealth
in the Shire is not very difficult to explain, but they could have been more
efficient when using this tactic and in co-ordinating their efforts.

It's logical
that the Riders are guarding the eastern borders of the Shire, since they do not
know at first where the hobbits are at all - they could be anywhere in the
Shire.

The Riders
also do not want any Rangers or other watchful forces of the good to come into
the Shire or disturb their hunt. I'm not so concerned with the Elves, but
Gandalf's words to Frodo in many meetings certainly suggest that powerful Elves
(like Glorfindel) are a match and a threat to the Riders.

I cannot see
how the Riders used maps of the Shire, but I'm sure they could get enough
general information from Saruman's spy to know which part of the Shire to head
for to find the home of the Bagginses and that's enough.

Later they
rely on using men as spies, searching for the Ring themselves and inquiring for
information.

My biggest
problem (except for some mentioned in the questions later) is why the Nazgűl
didn't guard the ferry at Bucklebury or didn't press their attack home at
Weathertop - then they were many and led by their captain, and had only small
resistance.

dna: blind-man's bluff I
think most of these questions can be more easily handled if its kept in mind
that this wasn't exactly a well-oiled machine at work here. From re-reading UT,
I get a general sense that events of the summer of 3018 were not among Sauron's
shining moments. His "most important mistake," as noted, was focusing on the
Anduin Vales for too long. "But for it, the Black Riders would have reached the
Shire weeks sooner." So he was already scrambling to play catch-up, not only
with Gandalf, but with Saruman as well. Imagine Sauron's pride - doing his best
to avoid a 3rd place finish!

Saruman became
more of an obstacle to Sauron than anything, suppressing knowledge & supplying
misinformation. There are actually indications where Sauron was panicking like
some newspaper boss getting outwitted on leads to a story. The Nazgul even feel
"dismay" from Sauron's threats, as well as distress when finally the long
distance to the Shire (over many rivers) was revealed, which didn't occur until
they came to Isengard. This shows that the Nazgul were not indefatigably
mindless, even though they were slaves to the Ring. With information still hard
to come by, and encumbered by their physical limitations, the Nazgul seem to
scramble along a lot more than they strategize. As is said, they "had two main
pieces of information only to go on: Shire and Baggins." And their
chain-of-command may become a lot more tenuous the further they're away from
Mordor. When exactly does Khamul call the shots, or the Witch-king for that
matter?

squire: 1. The Riders
did not have only fear as a
weapon. They had been slaying people left and right all summer. Why did they not
kill Maggot when he opposed them? As Curious notes, they were only seeking
information; but I feel they would not take well to spirited opposition.

dna: It says the "Nazgul
were commanded to act as secretly as they could." I go with Curious' assessment
here. Also, they did not have the strength in numbers, and "all except for the
Witch-king were apt to stray when alone by daylight."

Elostirion74: At this
point they're trying to find the Ring as quickly as possible and they know the
Ringbearer is somewhere nearby. Maggot is no threat to them, and he won't or
cannot give them any information, so why kill him? The Dunedain are totally
different, they are strong and unlike hobbits in general they are on the watch
for coming evil, and could possibly intercept in the Black Rider's hunt and
hinder or delay them or give other and more powerful people information about
the Riders.

dna: I don't think they
functioned well at all, but we know from Aragorn's words near Weathertop that
"our shapes cast shadows in their minds, which only the noon sun destroys... And
at all times they smell the blood of living things... Senses, too, there are
other than sight and smell."

Grammboodawg: I really
like what Peter did with the Wraith world and how it looks to Frodo to be
there. I believe the Wraiths' vision is much like what Frodo witnesses... so
they have a degree of perceiving shapes and movement, but no detail. I've never
thought they were completely sightless.

Elostirion74: The Riders
can sense the world of daylight as vague, misty or dim shapes, cf. how Frodo
perceives the world when he's gradually becoming overborne by the wound. And
they can smell and sense that living people are nearby, but I would reckon this
is more like sensing the direction than knowing accurately where this living
person is.

Btw you should
not underestimate the help of the horses, their hearing is very sharp and their
sidevision quite extraordinary if I'm not mistaken.

squire: 3.
Where had Khaműl been during Frodo’s night
with Gildor, and how did he get back to the ridge above the steep bank just in
time to miss the hobbits, when the Elves had been gone for hours and the hobbits
had been lingering over breakfast for almost as long?

dna: My guess is the Elves
were still keeping watch.

Elostirion74: Tolkien
doesn't say, but perhaps Khamul was searching the road towards Stock or meeting
the other Rider to exchange information. He wouldn't probably know where exactly
the Elves went either, and that's a vital point as he's not liable to lie in
hiding just waiting to show himself and catch the hobbits as soon as the Elves
have left. After all the Elves and the hobbits actually did walk for some time
from the spot where the Rider stopped, so the Rider didn't have to be nearby all
the time, in fact his presence would probably disturb and arouse the vigilance
of the Elves, which is definitely not what the Riders would want. It's much
better if they keep at a distance and try to find the hobbits later, when the
hobbits are left to fend for themselves.

It's more
difficult to understand why one of the Riders did not guard the Ferry.

squire: 4.
Where were the other two (probably) Riders
who also invaded the Shire? Who were they visiting off the address list? Once Khaműl ascertained from the Gaffer that Baggins had left to go to Buckland, why
did he not summon them to the real chase?

Grammboodawg: I think
leaving Riders in the Shire is a result of sensing the Ring wasn't far away.
The hobbits were still closeby... so it wasn't a bad call on the Rider's part.

Elostirion74: Difficult
question. Maybe these two are searching the areas close to the East Road and
later drawing off to guard the areas close to the north-eastern borders? That
seems most likely to me.

squire: 5. Why did it take so long for
the Riders to
get to Bucklebury? Fatty is not besieged at Crickhollow until four days after
Frodo leaves for the Old Forest, yet the Rider knows the hobbits crossed the
Ferry to Buckland, and the ride to Bucklebury is only 40 miles to the bridge and
down the east bank?

dna: see all earlier
answers - and acquiring willing translators of their charts & maps was probably
the main reason for such a calamity of errors within the Shire.

Elostirion74: I agree this
is a long time and is difficult to explain. But I'm certain the Riders needed to
search some parts of central Buckland and Bucklebury and do a good deal of
inquiries first to find the house, as they didn't know exactly where Frodo lived
and the house at Crickhollow was very isolated, a mile or so away from the next
house.

I should say a
little less than two days would have been more convincing.

squire: I can’t resist posting this great shot of
the Stonebows Bridge over the Brandywine! (It’s actually in Nene in the UK.)

Grammboodawg: This has
been a fantastic week, squire... thank you :) And thanks to Altaira for leading
the way!

Wonderful study guys :)

erather:
Sorry, I just can't
resist. I've been away all week, and just spent a pleasant afternoon
catching up with the outstanding job you've all done with this chapter! At this
late stage, all I can do is congratulate you all, especially squire, and offer
the link below, which is entirely relevant to this thread.